Next on the platter (and last) is relief pitchers. The way I envision these projections is the following:
There are going to be three high-leverage pitchers in the bullpen, then three other mid-leverage guys, and then a bunch of others. I am going to list the 11 I want you to project, in no particular order. Then you list them in descending order of leverage from most important to least. Additionally, the WAR spreadsheet calls for 505 IP for the bullpen. This means do not go over this number, but if you feel those innings might come elsewhere just leave them blank. The leftover innings will be input as replacement level. I have no idea how the bullpen will actually shake out because we have like 327 options, and more questions than answers. This should be a fun exercise, though.
Here are the 11 pitchers and their CHONE projections:
|
IP |
FIP |
|
|
Balfour |
63 |
3.22 |
|
Bradford |
56 |
3.93 |
|
Choate |
44 |
4.47 |
|
Cormier |
62 |
4.49 |
|
Howell |
75 |
3.27 |
|
Nelson |
57 |
3.45 |
|
Niemann |
111* |
5.05* |
|
Percival |
30 |
4.93 |
|
Salas |
50 |
3.98 |
|
Talbot |
151* |
4.80* |
|
Wheeler |
67 |
3.98 |
* Projection as a SP. Generally, subtract one run from their FIP to convert to RP.